


Autumn and Winter

by brbcrafting



Series: Drarry Drabbles [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 09:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6848338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brbcrafting/pseuds/brbcrafting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco owns a bookshop and Harry is completely, utterly smitten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Autumn and Winter

Draco was winter. That was the word that came to mind when Harry looked at him. The boy always looked young, cold, gentle. He was soft like winter, like the first snowfall of the year when the sky is crisp and blue and the snowflakes are meandering down from the clouds and everything looks like a Christmas card. His white-blond hair curled slightly around the edges of his faded blue knitted beanie. He had this habit of twirling the longer strands, his left hand reaching up to twist the hairs by his ear, and he was currently doing so as he read. He wore a light grey shirt with a low back that displayed his shoulder blades and dipped just enough in the front to show off his prominent collar bones. Tight, light blue jeans hugged his drawn-up legs, which he had a thick novel rested against. Draco was peace, calm, blue, white, a frozen lake among the trees of the shelves.

He matched the shop, Harry thought. And he really did. The walls were the same faded blue, littered with blown-up covers of famous classics and abstract art. The ceiling was high, but the shelves were neatly lined throughout the shop as close together as possible. All the furniture was made of dark wood, making everything contrast nicely. Draco resided in a window seat with plush white pillows lining it, and despite the fact that it was large enough for him to stretch out in, he remained curled in on himself.

“Hi,” Harry called. Draco made a disgusted noise and didn’t budge. His eyes didn’t move from the page. Harry shrugged and picked up a book. “What’re you reading?”

“Potter, we go to college together. We are not friends. Either buy something or get out. I don’t want to make small talk.” He still didn’t look up, which was slightly disappointing. Harry pulled a face, knowing he wouldn’t see.

“Then I’ll buy something,” Harry supplied. “Why don’t you make a suggestion?”

Draco sighed and motioned towards a shelf. “Third shelf down, there’s a book near the right called Carry On. It’s a personal favorite. Just give me twenty pounds and get your book, Potter.”

Harry grabbed the book and inspected the cover. It displayed the colored silhouettes of two males with a castle between them, the title, and the author’s name. Rainbow Rowell. He read the synopsis with interest.

“Twenty pounds,” he announced, handing the note to Draco. The other boy took it and tucked it into his pocket. His hand lingered on his hip bone for a second, and Harry forgot how to breathe momentarily.

“Get out, Potter.”

“I’ll see you at school, Draco.”

“I hope not.”

Harry gave a jaunty salute as he walked out. As soon as the door closed, he let out a noisy sigh. Draco was incredibly damn attractive, but a jerk. Or maybe he just really hated Harry. Whatever it was, he’d never given Harry the time of day. Even after Harry’s best pickup lines and a few of his winks (which witches seemed to love; if Harry were straight, he’d have no trouble finding a date).

Maybe he would be kinder when they shared a common interest: this book. Harry went back to his dorm and flopped onto his bed, ready to settle in to the novel. He’d always enjoyed reading to a degree, but thicker books weren’t his favorites. That was more Hermione’s area. The synopsis did intrigue him, though.

Their dorm was a clash of chaos and neatness. Harry didn’t really own much, and he preferred to hide it all away. Ron, on the other hand, had never managed to keep his side neat for more than a few hours. Dirty clothes were draped over his chair and the end of his bed, his sheets were a mess, his drawers remained half-opened. It was annoying, but Harry tolerated it.

“Hey, mate.” Ron removed his headphones, and Harry could hear Patrick Stump’s voice from the earpieces. “Where’ve you been?”

“The bookshop down the road. Winter’s Day Reads. You know, the one Draco Malfoy owns,” he added casually.

“Oh, Harry. Let him go,” Ron sighed. “He hates everyone but his rich-kid friends.” Ron was the only person besides Hermione who knew about Harry’s crush. He’d long ago accepted Harry’s queerness, but he hated Draco Malfoy.

“I don’t think he likes them. They’re all kind of idiots. He’s smart. I mean, he owns a bookshop,” Harry argued. “And I like him. He’s fit.”

“Yeah, I suppose so. But he’s a prick.”

Harry didn’t respond, instead opting to open his book and lose himself in the ink-filled pages.

—

The first day of school, and already Harry’s been seated next to the most gorgeous boy he’s ever seen. Sporting a white beanie and a dark blue jumper, he looks soft and reminds Harry of snow, or of the pond he used to skate on. His hair looks like it would be wonderful to run his fingers through, and he’s twirling a few loose strands. Speaking of his hands, they’re lightly calloused on a few fingertips, as though he spends a lot of time using a pencil, but the rest of the skin looks smooth. His eyes are a piercing, icy grey.

“Hey,” he manages. He also manages a wink. Which is difficult in his state; this boy has rendered him nearly frozen.

The boy rolls his eyes. So much for that. “Come off it. You’re so not my type.”

“Sorry if I creeped you out. I was kind of hoping you swung my way.”

“Oh, I swing that way. Just not your way."

—

“Draco, you’ve gotten me obsessed.” Harry dropped his books onto the desk next to Draco’s in their first class the next day. They shared a few classes in common sometimes, and today was one of those times. “I’m already to chapter forty.”

The tiniest beginning of a smile crossed Draco’s face, quickly disguised with a smirk. “Mm. Understandable. Rainbow is a genius.”

“You have incredible taste in novels.”

“It’s teen chick lit. I thought you’d hate it.”

“Was this a test?” Harry grinned when Draco smirked. “I passed, I hope.”

“Maybe,” Draco mused.

—

Draco got used to Harry’s visits to the bookshop. He kept suggesting favorites and Harry kept reading them (and loving them), and their tense relationship edged away from flirting met with hatred to a sort of strange friendship. Harry still did most of the talking, unless Draco was ranting about a book, but Draco didn’t mind.

To be honest, the curly-haired boy had won his heart from the first word.

Harry was autumn, he thought. His eyes were a mesmerizing green flecked with brown and gold, like the fading leaves. His hair was tousled and dark and framed a friendly, tanned face. Harry wore these jumpers in maroon and pale green and gold and mahogany, jumpers made of soft fabric that would have made a nice blanket. His laugh was like something one could only dream of. The way he moved was a flurry of leaves, quick and unplanned but still beautiful to watch.

Harry Potter had walked into class and winked at him on the first day of college and Draco was completely taken with this warm autumn day of a man.

“I need more, Draco,” he demanded after two days of reading yet another novel. He flipped through the book, revealing that he’d finished and removed his bookmark. “I need so much more!”

“No more to offer you. So sorry, Potter.”

And then Harry dropped onto the empty pillow on the other side of Draco’s window seat.

It’s not that he minded. He barely took up any space in the seat, so it was fine to have someone share it, especially someone who would read with him. But it was the fact that this was Harry sharing the seat with him. With the other boy sitting across from him, mimicking his position, he couldn’t help but smile.

—

The boy next to him wore a dark green jumper and carried an aura of warmth. As he sat down, Draco could have sworn he caught a faint whiff of cinnamon. He reached up and ruffled his already messed-up curls with one hand and turned to Draco.

“Hey.” And then he winked. He winked.

Draco rolled his eyes on impulse. Damn it, Malfoy, you couldn’t even give him a chance? “Come off it, you’re so not my type.” You so are my type.

“Sorry if I creeped you out. I was kind of hoping you swung my way.”

“Oh, I swing that way. Just not your way."

He didn’t even try to give the guy a chance. He desperately wanted to, but he knew it was a bad idea. He just ignored the guy for the rest of class, and walked out without so much as a backwards glance.

—

They slipped into a sort of routine, the two of them. Harry would come, buy a suggested book, arrive back a few days later, sit in the window seat, and rant about the book. Sometimes he would visit in between those days to talk, and Draco would let him, even when the store was full of customers. He slowly stopped pretending to be annoyed by Harry — except as a joke, of course. Harry supposed they were friends. He’d never really asked.

Being friends was good. It was better than Draco’s earlier hatred.

“Friends with Malfoy. I can’t believe you,” Ron muttered once when Harry came back from a visit.

“Hey, he’s not hanging out here, is he?”

“S’fine, mate. I really don’t care who you’re friends with.”

“You’re my best mate, Ron. Trust me.” Harry lobbed a sock at Ron’s head. “But clean up the damn room, or I’m making you find a new roommate.

—

The kiss was kind of an accident. Draco had been handing him a book from across the counter — there were other customers in the store that day, so he was on duty rather than snuggled in his window seat — and Harry had leaned too close, just close enough. Their noses bumped. Draco laughed. Harry closed the distance.

He wasn’t even sure why he did it. It wasn’t like he’d been invited to, or it had been a moment loaded with sexual tension, or Draco had done something to make himself suddenly seem kissable. Harry had just… gone for it. Like a bloody idiot.

The kiss was so good. It must have lasted only a few seconds, but a few seconds were long enough to register softness and the taste of peppermints and the fact that Draco kissed him back. Of course, he didn’t pay attention to the kissing back part. He was too busy panicking because he’d kissed Draco freaking Malfoy.

“Sorry. Sorry, oh god, I shouldn’t have done that.” Harry yanked away. “I’m an idiot. I… thanks for the book. Bye.” Draco was staring at him, and then he reached up to touch his own lips gently. Harry spun on his heels, darted out of the bookshop, and bit his lip hard to fight back tears.

“Harry!” The door opened and slammed shut; Draco was following him. He realized, his heart leaping into his throat, that this was the first time Draco had called him anything other than Potter. “Harry, please come back!”

Harry ducked under the awning of a closed shop, wishing the shadows would hide him. Draco was there in seconds. He stood close, but didn’t invade Harry’s space. Harry pressed his back against the wall in a weak attempt to get farther away.

“Harry,” Draco breathed.

“Draco,” Harry replied. He was on the verge of tears.

“You kissed me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

“Harry?”

“Yes?”

“Do it again."

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! This is not my first fanfiction, but it's my first to ever post online, so feel free to leave me any feedback you might have. It's much appreciated! This is the first work in a series, which I will be continuing for as long as possible. If you have any Drarry headcanons, suggestions, or prompts, please comment them and I will credit you if I write them! I am open to fluff, angst, AUs, crossovers, ALMOST ANYTHING! So don't hang back - I will most likely write anything you suggest, whether it's just a few paragraphs of fluff or an angsty chaptered fic. I will also be starting these short story series with several other ships, including Johnlock, Phan, Cecilos, Snowbaz, Solangelo, etc., so feel free to leave suggestions for those series as well! And if there's a ship not listed here that is included in one of the fandoms I'm in, I may be open to writing for it, so ask away!
> 
> Bye, everyone! - brbcrafting
> 
> PS: You can also contact me on Tumblr at the URL 'brb-crafting'. I will try to answer any asks sent to me!


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